Catchment
The airport (in its master plan) puts 1.2 million people within a one-hour drive of BRS. This is effectively the population of the former county of Avon, sometimes known as Greater Bristol or the West Country, albeit the latter term is generally accepted to stretch a bit beyond the old Avon area.
I know of no 30-minute drive-time stats although a substantial proportion of the 1.2 million will fall into this category, even taking into account the city of Bristol's usually congested traffic conditions and the less than ideal road links to the airport.
Over the past decade a consistent pattern has emerged that around 45-50% of BRS's annual passenger numbers begin or terminate their journey in the former Avon area.
The two-hour drive time is reckoned to be within the range of over 7 million people as it extends into much of South and West Wales as well as the entire South West England, although two hours to West Cornwall might be considered theoretical rather than practical - perhaps at 2 am if a generous interpretation of speed limits is factored in.
Last edited by MerchantVenturer; 12th Aug 2013 at 11:21.